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iUGGESTIONS FOR THE YEAR'S STUDY 



HISTORY I. 



VASSAR COLLEGE 




Suggestions for the Year's Study 



HISTORY I. 



VASSAR 



college \0J^. ^, li^Kj^y 



FOURTH EDITION, REVISED 



Poughkeepsic, New York 
1913 



Copyright, 1905 

by 
Lucy M. Salmon 

om 

Author 

SIP iti mt 






"Take these hints as suggestions, not as instructions, and improve 
on them as you grow in experience." 

"Historical genius consists in an unlimited capacity for taking pains." 

"The ideal college education seems to me to be the one where a 
student learns things he is not going to use in after life by methods that 
he is going to use. The former element gives the breadth, the latter 
element gives the training." — President Hadley, cited by President Lozvell 
in his Inaugural Address, Oetober 6, 1909. 

"To find things out for oneself is the very essential of education." — 
Percy Gardner. 

"Under the French they (the Piedmontese) had acquired the habit 
of thinking, and there are few habits so hard to break off as that." — 
IV. R. Thayer. 



PREFACE 

This pamphlet has been arranged in the hope that it may enable the 
students in History I. to become acquainted with the history treasures 
of the library and to acquire facility in using them. If it proves of help 
to anyone, the help may be passed on to others by contributing sugges- 
tions for its improvement to any of the officers of the Department of 
History. 

L. M. S. 

Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 
September, 1913. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Preface. 

I. Introduction. 

Description of Course I. in History. 

What the student brings to the first year of college work in 

History. 
What the student should gain from Course I. in History. 

H. The College Library. 
Description. 
History. 
The building. 
Plan of building. 
Plan of entrance hall. 
Classification of books. 
Chart showing books used in History I. 
Card catalogue. 

Assistance in the use of the library. 
Co-operation with the library. 

in. Material 

That should be owned by every student. 
Which the student works with. 
Available to every student. 

IV. General outline of the subject studied. 
V. Preparation of work. 

General steps in studying any history. 

First steps in studying Robinson's IVesicni Europe, 

Suggestions for 

reading, 

notes from reading, 

bibliography, 

definitions, 

summary, 

special topics. 

\'I. Authoritativeness of histories studied. 

Vn. Concerning History. 

VIII. The formation of a library. 

IX. Relation of Course I. to other courses in History. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR THE YEAR'S STUDY 
HISTORY I. 

I. INTRODUCTION 

1. Description of the course. 

"Course 1. General European History. Freshman or sophomore 
year, first and second semesters [3]. 

Professor Salmon, Professor Baldwin, Associate Professor Ellery, Assist- 
ant Professor Textor, Assistant Professor Thallon and Miss Thompson. 

The aim of this course is to give a general outline of the de- 
velopment of Western Europe from the ninth to the nineteenth 
century. It includes a study of the principal institutions of the 
Middle Ages, as feudalism, the church, and the mediaeval empire, 
followed by a study of the renaissance, the reformation, religious 
and political wars, and the development of modern states. 

Special attention is given to the use of books, including facility 
in the use of the library catalogue and general bibliographies, and 
to connecting the work in History with other college courses and 
with general reading. 

The work is conducted by means of text books, library references, 
class discussions and especially by personal conferences with each 
member of the class." 



2. What the student brings to the first year of college work in history. 

History. 

One 3'ear's work. 

what has been studied, — 

Ancient history to 800 A. D. 
how it has been studied, — 

study of a single text with collateral reading, 
some practice in note-book work, 

some training in reconstructing the past through the 
use of illustrative material. 

Language, 

English, 

a fair command of Latin, 

a fair reading knowledge of two of the three languages — 
French, German, or Greek. 

Mathematics. 

ability to reason. 

Science. 

ability to observe. 

3. What the student should gain from Course I in History. 

From the subject studied: 

a bird's-eye view of Western Europe, 

an appreciation of historical developments, 

an understanding of the unity and continuity of history, 

historical perspective, 

a background for work in other subjects. 

"Standing on a hilltop, a landscape will spread out like a 
map before us. We can see the prominent points, the heads 
of streams, the rocks, the coast, everything lies in proper 
perspective. Thus looking back upon History, we can see the 
importance of events which are hid from participants and 
onlookers." — P. J. Hamilton. 

From the study of the subject: 
ability to use books, 

to analyze material, 

to vivify historical facts, 

to respect facts, 

to value accurate, painstaking work, 

to understand the difference between reading history and 

studying history, 
to appreciate the difference between history and historical 

record, 
to understand what the historian does in writing history, 
to connect the present with the past and the past with 

the present. 

"The roots of the present I'e deep in the past, and 
nothing in the past is dead to the man who would 
learn how the present comes to be what it is." — 
Stiibbs. 

"No man is fit to be entrusted with the control of 
the present who is ignorant of the past; and no 
people who are indifferent to their past need hope to 
make their future great." 



II. THE COLLEGE LIBRARY. 

The college library. 

1. Description. 

Consult Handbook; also, pamphlet, The Thompson Memorial 
Library Building. 

2. History. 

Wood, F. A. The Evolution of the Library. 

3. The building — meaning of 

Exterior form. 
Interior, 
west window, 

printers' marks in windows, 
college seals, 
tapestries. 
General plan, — 
location of 
card catalogue, 
works on history, 
basement, 
floor, 
gallery, 

seminary room, 
drawing tables. 



4. Plan of the library 



PLAN °f 
Llftl^Af^Y 



B Loan LceK. 

C Catdlo£ac, 

D ■Recert 4Cces3iOT>s 

t PtT.OdiCil iTidc»c3. 




FLOop. 



a Librarians T?ooTn 
b CaUloguir^ KoOTT> 
c Newspaper Room 
d Manuscript RooTTi 



SEMINARY KC0M5 

(l-l floor) 

f Modern ler^jogea. 
gT>)i!osopSjf UjcalcTi^ ttifCi. 
h EconoTnics. 



JE 



WE5T 
WINd 



^ 



|.»o|| 



c 



i E 



SLMINARY ROOMS 

(3" fioof) 

'i Bible, " 
jiKG'Tftek arid Latirt. 

I EnjIiaS. 
•m Hi6loT\^. 



d!i""ill-ilh' 



NORTH WiUS 



5ti 



GALLEWE5 



10 



5. Plan showing arrangement of entrance hall. 



: 



A 




B 




G 








H 







A card catalogue. 

B catalogue table. 

C recent accessions. 

D loan desk. 

E cataloguer. 

F associate librarian. 

G reference librarian. 

H periodical and other indexes. 



11 



6. 



Classification of books. 

"To learn to classify is in itself an education." 
The books in the college library are arranged and cata- 
logued according to the decimal classification. This is also 
called the Dewey system, from the originator, Melvil Dewey. 
"By this system the field of knowledge is divided into 
9 main classes and these are numbered from 1 to 9. Cyclo- 
paedias, periodicals, etc., so general in character as to be- 
long to no one of these classes are marked 0, and form a 
tenth class. Each class is similarly separated into 9 
divisions. Divisions are similarly divided into 9 sections, 
and the process is repeated as often as necessary." — Dezvey. 



The general classes are 






General works 


5 


Natural science 


1 Philosophy 


6 


Useful arts 


2 Religion 


7 


Fine arts 


3 Sociology 


8 


Literature 


*4 Philology 


9 


History 


The divisions of Class 9 are 






900 History 


950 


Asia 


910 Geography and travels 


; 960 


Africa 


920 Biography 


970 


North America 


930 Ancient history 


980 


South America 


940 Europe 


990 


Oceanica. Polar re- 
gions 


The Sections of 940 are 






940 Europe (general) 


945 


Italy 


941 Scotland. Ireland 


946 


Spain. Portugal 


942 England. Wales 


947 


Russia 


943 Germany. Austria 


948 


Norway. Sweden. Den- 


944 France 




mark 




949 


Minor Countries 



Thus 942 means Class 9 (History), Division 4 (Europe), 
Section 2 (England), and every history of England is 
numbered 942. 

♦Incorporated in Vassar College Library with Class 8. 



12 

The decimal point separates the general sections from 
their sub-divisions. 

The sub-divisions of 940 are 
940.1 Mediaeval Europe 
.2 Rise of new nations 
.3 Age of feudalism 
.4 Age of chivalry 
.5 Modern Europe 
.6 Renaissance period 
.7 Age of the Reformation 
.8 Napoleonic period 
.9 Current history 
The sub-divisions of 942 are 
Period divisions 
942.01 Anglo-Saxon 
.02 Norman 
.03 Plantagenets 
.04 Lancaster and York 
.05 Tudor 
.06 Stuart 
.07 Hanover 
.08 Victoria 
Geographical divisions 

942.1 Middlesex. London 
.2 Southeastern 
.3 Southwestern 
.4 West Midland 
.5 North and South Midland 
.6 Eastern 

.7 Northwestern and Yorkshire 
.8 Northern 
.9 Wales 
A study of the main features of the Dewey system of 
classification will help much in finding quickly the his- 
tories on the library shelves. 

"It is undoubtedly true that no system ever invented 
has been applied to as many libraries as this." — E. C. 
Richardson. 



13 

7. Chart showing location of books 



7. This chart shows the general location of the greater part of the books used in Jr. 



900 History— General Bibliography. 

902 Chronological Tables. 

905 Historical Periodicals. 

906 Historical Societies. 

907 Study and Teaching. 

909 Universal and General Modern Histories. 

910 Geography and Travels. 

912 Maps and Historical Atlases. 

914 Travel in Europe. 

920 Collective Biography. 



930 


Ancient Historv. 


940 


Modern History — Europe. 


941 


Scotland. 


941.5 


Ireland. 


942 


England. 


942.01 


—942.09 Period Divisions 


942.1 


London. 


942.9 


Wales. 



Dry I. 



43 Germany and Austria. 
43.01—943.09 Period Divisions. 
43.6 Austria. 

44 France. 

44.01—944.08 Period Divisions. 
44.2 Normandy. 
44.9 Provence. 

45 Italy. 

46 Spain. 

47 Russia. 

8 Norway, Sweden and Denmark 
)49 Minor Countries of Europe. 



950 Asia. 

960 Africa. 

270 Church History. 

271 Monastic Orders. 
274 Reformation. 

280 Churches and Sects. 

282 Roman Catholic Church. 



14 

The card catalogue. 

Types of card catalogues. 

Consult Handbook, p. 3. 
Meaning of 

blue cards, 

red edged cards, 

cross reference cards, 

series cards. 
Analysis of specimen card ; 



940 Robinson, James Harvey, 1863 — 
R562 

An introduction to the history of western Europe, by James 

Harvey Robinson. . . Boston and London, Ginn & company, 1903. 

xi p., 1 1., 714 p. front., illus., pi., maps. IPj^cm. 

In two parts. Part one was first published in 1902. 
"List of books" : p. 689-690. 

The Library has 3 other copies 

Subject entries : Europe — Hist. 

3—6172 



Library of Congress, no. 



Q D103.R67. Copyright. 



IS 

9. Assistance in the use of the library. 

"Become acquainted ivith the Library as soon as possible. The 
Reference Librarian expects every nezv student to come 
to the Reference Desk to be shoivn the arrangement of 
the Library and the use of the catalogue and to receive a 
copy of the Library Handbook." * 

Ask at the loan desk (Chart, desk D) if you wish to know 
the location of a book on the shelves, 
whether a book is out, or otherwise accounted for at the 
desk. 
Ask the reference librarian (Chart, desk G) if you wish 
help 
in finding material on any subject, 
in finding out what is in a book, 
in knowing how to use a book, 
in knowing how to use the card catalogue. 
Ask your instructor in history if you wish to know 

the most authoritative material on any subject \n 

history, 
the comparative value of different histories covering the 

same field, 
what histories it is best to purchase. 

10. Co-operation with the library. 

How you can "do your part to make the library an ideal 

place in which to work." * 
Report at the loan desk 

any imperfections found in a book, 

uncut leaves, 

books missing. 
Tell your instructor in history about 

works of fiction or poetry bearing on the subject 
studied, 

histories you have seen or used elsewhere that are not 
in the college library. 
Bring from your home, if not needed there, and give to 
the library, if it does not have them, 

histories, 

biographies, 

old text-books in history, 

single numbers, or sets of periodicals, 

unusual newspapers. 
Personal use of the library 

Study the Library Handbook. 

"Put 3^ourself in his place." 

Students Handbook, 1912, p. 93. 



16 
III. MATERIAL. 

1. Material that should be owned by every student. 

a. Books. 

James Harvey Robinson, 

An hUroductioii to the History of U'csfcni Europe, price, 
$1.60. 

Readings in Eurofean History, 2 vols., price, $1.50 each. 
Earle W. Dow, 

Atlas of European History, price. $1.50, or, 
William R. Shepherd, 

Historical Atlas, price, $2.50. 

b. Accessories. 

History pads, .05 each. 

Heavy manila envelopes, two for .01. 

Suggestive Lists for Reading in History, price, .25. 

Small globes may be obtained, if desired, price, .10. 

2. General material with which the student works. 

Books, maps, charts, diagrams, genealogical tables, photo- 
graphs and similar reproductions of works of art. 

3. Specific material available to every student. 

Bibliographies. 

Make use of bibliographical lists, such as those found in 
Robinson and other recent histories, and in the college 
library catalogue. 

Works of reference. 

"A reference book is a book which is to be consulted for 
definite points of information rather than read through, 
and is arranged with explicit reference to ease in find- 
ing specific facts." — E. C. Richardson. 

a. General. 

Kroeger, .\. B. Guide to the .Study and Csc of Reference 

Books. 
Ploetz, Carl. Epitome of Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern 

History. 

b. Dictionaries. 

Murray, J. A. H. Nezv English Dictionary on Historical 

Principles, vols. 1 — 
The Century Dictionary. 6 vols. 

c. Encyclopaedias. 

Encyclopaedia Britannica. 28 vols, and Index. 

Larousse, P. N. Grand dictionnairc univcrsel du xix^ 
siccle. 17 vols. 

Meyer, H. J. Konversations-Lcxicon. 21 vols. 

Consult Kroeger, Second ed., 1908, pp. 20-21, for sugges- 
tions as to the use of encyclopaedias. 



17 

d. Periodicals. 

Poole's Judex to Periodical Literature. 6 vols, and annual 

supplements. 
Nezu York Daily Tribune. Index. 1893-1906. 

e. Year Books. 

Ha sell's Annual. 

Statesman's Year-Booh. 

World Almanac. 

Minerva ; Jahrbuch der gelehrten Welt. 

f. Atlases. 

Century Atlas of the World. 

Putzger, F. W. Historischer Schul- Atlas. 

Rothert, E. Karten und Skizcen, 4 vols. 

g. Autobiographical. 

Who's Who? (England.) 
Who's Who in America? 
Qui ctes-vous? 
Wer ist's? 
Chi e? 
h. Biographical. 

The Century Dictionary of A'ames. 

Stephen, Leslie. Dictionary of National Biography. 63 vols. 
Cyclopaedia of American Biography. 7 vols, 
i. Ecclesiastical. 

Addis, W. E., and Arnold, Thomas. A Catholic Dictionary 

containing some Account of the Doctrine, Ceremonies, 

Councils, and Religious Orders of the Catholic Church. 
The Catholic Encyclopaedia. 15 vols. 
The Jewish Encyclopaedia. 12 vols. 
McClintock, J., and Strong, J. Cyclopaedia of Biblical, 

Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. 10 vols., and 

supplement. 
j. Miscellaneous. 

Du Cange. Glossarium Manuale ad Scriptorcs mediae ct 

infimae Latinitatis, etc. 
Lalor, J. J. Cyclopaedia of Political Science, Political 

Economy, and of the Political History of the United 

States. 3 vols. 
Low, S. J., and Pulling. F. S. Dictionary of English 

History. 
Palgrave, R. H. L Dictionary of Political Economy. 

3 vols. 
Sturgis, R. Dictionary of Architecture and Building. 

3 vols. 



18 

IV. GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE SUBJECT STUDIED. 

The first chapter of Robinson's Introduction to the History of Western 
Europe states the object of the book, it gives the point of view of the 
author, and it indicates the present tendencies in the study and the 
writing of history, especially that of emphasizing the unity and the con- 
tinuity of history. 

A careful study of the Contents, pp. vii. — viii., will give the general 
outline of the subject as it is studied throughout the year. An examina- 
tion of the running side lines of the separate chapters, found on the indi- 
vidual pages, will give a more detailed analysis of the subject. 



19 

V. PREPARATION OF WORK. 

General steps in studying any history. 

Analysis of the book with reference to, — 

Autlior, — nationality, residence, education, occupation, politics, re- 
ligion, personal characteristics. 

General form, — title-page, copyright, contents, chapter headings, 
head-lines, side-lines, margins, signature, body of work, foot-notes, 
illustrations, maps, charts, diagrams, genealogical tables, appendices, 
index. 

Structure, — sentence, paragraph, chapter, book. "Every good book 
can be summed up in a single sentence." 

Contents. 

Autlioritaiivcncss. 

First steps in studying Robinson's History of Western Europe. 

Study the first two points noted above. 

Read the Contents. 

Read the Preface, — what purpose does it serve? 

Consult the bibliography at the end of each chapter and underscore, 

with ink, all books owned, 

with pencil, all books accessible in the Library and elsewhere. 

Suggestions for reading. 

Read an entire chapter to gain a general view of the subject and 
note the relation of the sub-divisions to the main topic. 

Supplement this by reading the same subject in a more detailed 
work, such as one of the volumes in The Periods of European History 
series, Emerton's Mediaeval Europe, or Bemont and Monod's Medi- 
eval Europe. 

Vivify the subject by reading the corresponding selections in 
Robinson's Readings, the University of Pennsylvania Translations 
and Reprints, Henderson's Select Documents, or other primary sources. 

Read such authorities as will serve to bring together and interpret 
the important lines of thought, as Adams' Civilization During the 
Middle Ages, Taylor's Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages, or Bryce's 
Holy Roman Empire. 

Read some work of poetry or fiction bearing on the period. Con- 
sult Suggestive Lists for Reading in History. 

"Historical events and movements are frequently fixed in the 
memory by the perusal of books which may be inaccurate in them- 
selves, especially as to details, but which, nevertheless, leave a 
permanent and reasonably correct impression on the mind of the 
reader." — Channing and Hart, Guide to American History, p. 135. 

Study some work of art illustrating the subject, as Diirer's Charle- 
magne, Chapu's Joan of Arc, photographs of cathedrals, etc. 

Aim to make all general reading and study of art bear on college 
work. 



20 

4. Suggestions for notes from reading. 

Note-taking. "My method has usually been, 1, to read over regu- 
larly; 2, to glance again over all I have read, and analyze." — 
Gladstone. 

On the general subject of note-taking, consult S. S. Seward, 
Jr., Note-taking; on outlining, consult M. Ball, The Principles 
of Outlining. 

Four essentials are involved in good note-taking; — 

a. Content. The meaning of the author read must be pre- 
served, but it must be expressed in the words of the reader. 
This is best done by using the analytical form. The follow- 
ing suggests one way of analyzing Robinson, Western Europe, 
pp. 56-57 : — 

Monks in Europe 
Importance 
Orders 

Benedictines 
Franciscans 
Dominicans 
Jesuits 
Eminent monks 
Bede 
Bonifice 
Abelard 

Thomas Aquinas 
Roger Bacon 
Era Angelico 
Savonarola 
Luther 
Erasmus 
Reasons for strength 
appeal to many classes 
place of refuge for the 
spiritually minded 
studious 
discouraged 
disgraced 
indolent 
favored by 
kings 
nobles 

b. Quotations. When it is necessary to use direct quota- 
tions, the quotations must be made with extreme care — "verba- 
tim et literatim et punctatini — " and quotation marks used. 

c. Reference to authorities. The authority used must be 
cited for all notes taken either in the form of analysis, para- 
phrase, or direct quotation. 

The reference is given in the foot-note. 

Since the description of the work is given in the bibli- 
ography, it is necessary to give only author and page. 



21 



The following suggests one form 



Revival of Empire 



Causes : 

Middle Ages unpolitical, 
interest in Visible Church, 
belief in 
World-State, 
interdependence of Papacy and 

Empire, 
union of Church and State, 
etc.i 



1 Bryce, pp. 89-121. 



d. Analytical Outline. After the completion of the notes 
from reading, an analytical outline should be made based on 
the material contained in the notes. This forms the table of 
contents of the notes taken from the reading. 

e. Punctuation and Capitals. For general questions con- 
nected with the subject, consult, 

C. S. Baldwin, A Summary of Punctuation. 
W. S. Booth, Notes for the Guidance of Authors. 
Note especially 

difference in meaning of similar forms, 
Adams, pp. 5-7, pp. 5, 7. 
Green, 4 vols., vol. IV. 

5. Suggestions for bibliography. 

Make out a bibliography in card-catalogue form of all 

authorities used on any one piece of work. 
Each card or slip should include 

name of author in directory form, 

title of the book, — to be taken from the title-page, not 

from the cover of the book, 
if the work has more than one volume, the number of 

volumes in the set, 
place and date of publication, 

brief estimate of the value of the book for the purpose 
used. 
The bibliography is a "guide to the best authorities on the 
subject;" the bibliographical card is therefore a descrip- 
tion of the work as a whole. Exact references to volume 
and page where facts are found belong in the footnotes, 
not in the bibliography. 
The following forms are given suggesting varying illustra- 
tions of bibliographical principles : 



22 



Bryce, J. 



The Holy Roman Empire. 
Rev. ed. N. Y. 1904. 



Gibbon, Edward, ed. by J. B. Bury. 



Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- 
pire. 7 vols. London. 1900-1904. 

"At once scrupulously faithful in its 
facts, consummate in literary art and 
comprehensive in analysis of forces 
affecting society over a very long and 
crowded epoch." — Frederic Harrison. 



Haskins, C. H. 



"Knight Service in Normandy in the 
Eleventh Century." English His- 
torical Reviezv, 1907, XXII. 



Leathes, S. 



'Richelieu." 
Cambridge Modern History, IV. 



Shotwell, J. T. 



"The Middle Ages." 
Encyclopaedia Britannica, XVIII. 



23 

Note especially 

that a bibliography is general and descriptive and there- 
fore should not include specific reference to volume 
and page, 
that the value of a bibliography often depends quite as 

much on what it omits as on what it contains, 
that the arrangement should be alphabetical, by authors, 
that academic titles are omitted. 
A supplementary bibliography may include the titles of 
books not used in connection with the work, but desirable 
to preserve for future use. These titles should be distin- 
guished from those used by an asterisk. (*) 

6. Suggestions for definitions. 

Make a list of all technical terms found in history reading 
and give each its proper definition, as allod, beneficium, bull, 
charter, code, comitatus, dispensation, fief, homage, immunity, in- 
dulgence, over-lord, peace, relief, suzerain, treaty, vassal, villain. 

7. Suggestions for summaries. 

All work in history should lead to a conclusion. This con- 
clusion, or summary, may change with the acquisition of new 
material and it can therefore never be considered final ; it 
represents only the decision reached in view of the evidence 
already collected. 

The summary presented by the student should state clearly 
what the study of the subject has meant to her, it should 
bring to a focus all the reading that has been done on a 
subject, and it should be an interpretation of the facts found 
rather than a presentation of new facts or a repetition of facts 
given in the notes. 

8. Suggestions for special topics. 

The topic 
Definition 

The topic is a study made of a limited field of history. It 
involves the use of various parallel authorities, it brings to a 
conclusion the reading done on the subject, and when finished 
it is in plan a miniature chapter of a book. 
Substance 

The topic comprises the notes taken from reading, a bibli- 
ography showing the authoritativeness of the works used, and 
a summary of what has been done. 
Arrangement 

The arrangement of the material should be 
subject of topic 
table of contents 
bibliography 
notes from reading 
summary. 



24 
VI. AUTHORITATIVENESS OF THE HISTORIES STUDIED. 
A. Chart illustrating Robinson's IVestern Europe. 



CHART ILLUSTRATING 
ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF WESTERN EUROPE 



soir^ 



CES 



"European History" 



KXUAUSTIVF. WORKS 



MONirMENTAL. 






The ReI<.Vni:iti,in Fn:iKli Kcvolulian Archi 



*'Hi5tory ol tfie rnqiiisiti' 






aiarl'e- liolmCkketaard 



I I 



Prui^ry- Albcrlu. Rob-.-rDnnto 



'Westphalia Zoll- Ocrm. 



ItveUl Polo Uui(l"vUla|ui> ' 

LuWer AlMiidBrMoo" Wo«n» 



^..n 



1 



Qttcwar orKbtlmi 



24 
VI. AUTHORITATIVENESS OF THE HISTORIES STUDIED. 

A. Chart illustrating Robinson's Western Europe. 



25 

Explanation of the chart. 

The writer who today brings before the public a new history 
must be prepared to find his every statement met by the question, 
"What is your authority?" The challenge that in one form or 
another meets the historian at every step on his way is, "What is 
the basis of your conclusion?" "How do 3'ou know?" If at any 
point he fails to meet the challenge, his entire work falls to the 
ground unsupported. 

From the child who asks for a "true story" to the mature reader 
and student of history the demand is universal that story-teller and 
historian alike shall give an absolutely faithful portrayal. Con- 
sciously or unconsciously the reader of today looks with disfavor on 
"Froudacity" ; on history written solely for effect ; on superficial, 
inaccurate work; on formless, jellyfish histories written to please 
everybody; on "safe" histories that like "safe" candidates are 
offered, the one to find purchasers, the other to find votes. 

If therefore the historian can not show that his authority is un- 
impeachable, that the evidence he produces is absolutely trust- 
worthy, that those upon whose authority he is forced to rely have 
had an eye single for the truth, his work justly fails in creditability 
in the view alike of readers and of scholars. 

This demand for evidence, made today of every historian, is the 
explanation of the wealth of bibliographical material that accom- 
panies every history, of the elaborate foot-notes through which the 
author substantiates his statements, of the change in the preface 
from apologies for literary shortcomings to statements concerning 
the writer's indebtedness to fellow-historians. The historian ex^ 
hausts every means at his command to show the authoritativeness 
of his work; this is the alpha and omega of his historical creed. 

If then we turn to the most recent works worthy to be called 
history, we are able to lay bare the evidence on which they are 
based and to penetrate to the very substratum of the authority cm 
which they rest. It is the purpose of the accompanying chart to 
show how this may be done. Mr. Robinson's work has been selected 
for the illustration because it is the most recent of the manuals in 
general use, and because through preface, foot-notes, bibliographical 
lists, maps, and illustrations it invites the most thorough examina- 
tion of the sources of its authority. 

The historian classes the authorities he uses under the two main 
heads — secondary and primary. The term "secondary authorities" 
does not mean that these are of secondary importance ; nor does it 
mean that they are second rate in character, for they are often more 
valuable than so-called primary authorities, since the work of a dis- 
tinguished historian can usually be accepted at its face value, while 
primary authorities must be tested by every known canon of histori- 
cal criticism before they can be accepted by the historian. The best 
secondary authorities are based on original sources and on other 
secondary authorities that are unimpeachable. They deal with cer- 
tain periods of phases of history so well and so exhaustively that 
they have become authoritative. It is impossible for any historian to 
investigate from the sources alone any period of historj-, however 



26 

limited it may be, and he therefore avails himself of the work done 
by others. 

If we examine the History of IVesteni Europe, we may class the 
secondary authorities on which it is based under the heads Manuals 
and Exhaustive Works, and each of these again under the heads 
General and Special. If we examine a general manual, like Adams' 
European History, we shall find that it in its turn is based in part on 
secondary authorities such as certain well-accepted works of reference, 
especially those by French and German scholars, and certain Eng- 
lish classics, like Gibbon, which in their turn are based in part on 
secondary and in part on primary authorities. But Adams' handbook 
also is in large measure based directly on primary authorities both 
literary and monumental, as is indicated by the chart. If we turn to 
Henderson's history, a manual dealing with a special period, we have 
the same result, — a basis of secondary and primary authorities ; the 
same principle holds with reference to exhaustive works like those 
of Helmolt and, to some extent, of Mr. Henry C. Lea. 

If now we turn to the class of primary authorities, we shall in- 
clude in it all those contemporary records of a period whose au- 
thenticity has been investigated by the author himself. These records 
may be classed as literary and monumental. 

The homely phrase "everything is grist that comes to the mill" 
well characterizes the vast amount of seemingly heterogeneous lit- 
erary material that the historian must sift and analyze before he is 
ready to combine contemporaneous records into an orderly history 
that shall give a true picture of the past. Constitutions, charters, 
laws, proclamations, decrees, papal bulls, treaties, statistical tables, 
are all examined as to their authenticity and importance. The works 
of contemporaneous historians, of chroniclers, biographers, geogra- 
phers, travelers, linguists, men of letters, economists, scientists, 
theologians, statesmen, and philosophers, are eagerly studied for the 
conscious records of the time. The historian searches poems, dramas, 
satires, essays, novels, letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, sermons, 
hymns, songs, for the unconscious records of the period. He 
searches newspapers, magazines, and a mass of ephemeral literature 
and tests its value as historical material by a study of the laws 
affecting freedom of the press. Everything in printed or in manu- 
script form that bears on the period studied is summoned before the 
bar and the testimony given is accepted or rejected in accordance 
with the laws of historical evidence. 

But the historian does not rely alone on the record written with 
the pen. He has come to realize that this constitutes but one part 
of the evidence that must be examined and weighed before he can 
write the history of a given period. The records left by nature 
through geological formations and anthropological changes ; the 
record left by spoken and written language, by existing forms, cere- 
monies, and rituals, the original meaning of which has long since 
passed away ; the records left by architecture, painting, and sculp- 
ture, by coins, medals, and seals, by armor and heraldic emblems, by 
rugs and tapestries, by wood carving and wood inlaying, — all these 
infinitely varying forms of the monumental record must be examined 
and tested before the hisotrian is ready to portray the past. 



27 

If now we turn to the chart, it will be evident that the History of 
Western Europe is based not only upon reliable secondary authori- 
ties but also in part on original records both literary and monu- 
mental. The works of scientists, poets, preachers, travelers, philoso- 
phers, and statesmen, constitutions, laws, treaties, decrees, and papal 
bulls, — every variety of literary material has been placed under 
requisition. Sites of towns, city walls, construction and plans of 
buildings, portraits of individuals made by pen, brush, and chisel, 
cartoons and caricatures, costumes and jewels, household furni- 
ture and arrangement of gardens and hedges, inventions and machin- 
ery, — every form of material expression of the activity of human 
thought has directly or indirectly been examined. 

It is obviously impossible to indicate on the chart more than a 
fraction of the very large number of authorities on which the His- 
tory of Western Europe is based. A sufficient number is given, how- 
ever, to show that every historian, as differentiated from a com- 
piler of text-books, bases his work in the last analysis on contem- 
poraneous records and that he is prepared to answer fully and 
satisfactorily the searching question asked with reference to every 
statement made, "What is the authority?" 



28 
VII. CONCERNING HISTORY. 

What is history? 

Definitions of history 

Find, copy, compare, study and discuss the various defini- 
tions that have been given of history. Consult, for example, 
Emerson, Carlyle, Macaulay, Freeman, Shelley, Matthew 
Arnold and others. 

The Nature of history 

Birrell, A., Obiter Dicta, Second Series. 
Harrison, Frederic, The Meaning of History. 
Robinson, J. H., History. 

The Nczi' History. 

Shotwell, J. T. "History," Encyclof^acdia Britaniiica, Eleventh 
edition. 

The study of history. 

Channing and Hart, Guide to American History. (The sugges- 
tions given, while intended specially for American history, 
are of universal application.) 

Hart, A. B., American History told by Contemporaries. 4 vols. 
(The introductions are of general value.) 

Committee of Seven, The Study of History in .Schools. 

Historical fiction. 

Consult the titles in Suggestive Lists for Reading in History. 

Classification of histories as to 

Scope, 

General, as Helmolt, 
Special, as Henderson, 
Monograph, as Jusserand. 

Content, 

Political, as Gardiner, 
Ecclesiastical, as Alcog, 
Economic, as Ashley, 
Military, as Mahan, 
Social, as Traill. 



29 

VIII. THE FORMATION OF A LIBRARY. 

Every student should begin at once the collection of books that 
shall be the nucleus of a permanent librar3\ Some reasons for it are 
suggested by these opinions of famous authors. 

"My library was dukedom large enough." 
"Knowing I lov'd my books, he furnish'd me, 
From mine own library, with volumes that 
I prize above my dukedom." 

— Prospero, in The Tempest, — Shakespeare. 

"The library of wisdom is more precious than all riches, and 
nothing that can be wished for is worthy to be compared with it." — 
Richard de Bury. Philobibloii. 

"All minds in the world's past history find their focal points in 
a library." — Gilbert de Porre. 

"I no sooner come into the library, but I bolt the doors to me, 
and in the very lap of eternity amongst so many divine souls, I take 
my seat with so lofty a spirit and sweet content, that I pity all our 
great ones and rich men that know not this happiness." — Heinsius. 



IX. Relation of 
Course I to other 
Coni'ses in His- 
tory. 



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